CILLIAN SHERIDAN believes that Kilmarnock will have to find a way past one of Britain’s best keepers when they visit Fir Park today.

Darren Randolph’s Motherwell form has already led to a call-up for Ireland.

And Killie hitman Sheridan claims his compatriot deserves to be ranked beside Fraser Forster as the SPL’s No 1 goalie.

He insists Premier League big guns will be eyeing Randolph as he enters the last six months of his Well deal.

Sheridan said: “Darren was the keeper in the SPL team of last season, so to get that ahead of someone like Fraser Forster, who is in the England set-up, is a good achievement.

“I’m sure he has ambitions to go and play in the Premier League in England.

“If it is good for Motherwell — a lot of SPL clubs need to sell to make money — then I’m sure if the right offer came in they might sell him.

“I don’t see why Darren could not go to the Premier League. There are a lot of world-class keepers down there, but I don’t see him being that far off them.” Sheridan, 23, will take a trip down memory lane when he returns to Fir Park with Killie this afternoon.

He had a loan spell at Well in 2009 during his Celtic days.

The Irishman was still a teenager when he was packed off to Fir Park and insists he went from Bhoy to man during his four-month stint in Lanarkshire.

Working under Mark McGhee, Sheridan initially got a bit of a culture shock away from the cosy world of Celtic — but he loved every second of his spell at Fir Park.

He added: “Motherwell was my first loan move from Celtic so it was my first experience of not being classed as a youth-team player.

“It was a bit different but Motherwell are a good club and I have got nothing bad to say about my time there.

“Whenever I went out on loan from Celtic, if things were not going well then I always had it in the back of my head that I was at least going back to Parkhead’s good facilities and things like that.

“But I learned about the playing side of things at Motherwell and how to grow into games.

“It was different from reserve friendlies or being on the bench at Celtic.

“It was about playing and having to perform every time you go on that pitch when I was at Fir Park.

“If you had a bad game then someone could come in and score and you would be out of the team for five games.

“It was the first time I really experienced that. Mark McGhee was the manager and he made me feel welcome along with Scott Leitch. I never regretted going to Motherwell.

“It was different. I suppose any time outside of Celtic meant you would be playing with less pressure.

“You could come off a game if you lost at Motherwell and it would be forgotten about in a day or two, but at Celtic it is not forgotten about until the day before your next game.”

Killie hitman Sheri will be welcomed by a few familiar faces in the Well side and will go toe-to-toe with old pal Shaun Hutchinson. The big Geordie stopper is one of the best young talents in the SPL and is another who has been tipped for bigger things.

Sheridan always knew Hutch had real ability — especially after seeing him head the ball for the first time.

He said: “Shaun was one of the younger players coming through but you could see something in him and he has grown into a good defender, playing every week and performing well.

“I remember he had this massive header. The coaches used to say: ‘Watch him head the ball’.

“Someone would kick it up and he would smash it with his head. It was impressive.”

Sheridan will lead the Killie attack with Liam Kelly charged with the task of providing the chances.

Rugby Park midfielder Kelly is reportedly attracting interest from down south and could even leave in January.

Sheridan wants him to stay, but will understand if Killie opt to cash in next month.

He added: “For us it would be massive to keep Liam for the rest of the season.

“He is a huge part of the team, we missed him when he was suspended and to get him back was a major boost.

“When you see players who have been heavily linked with a move away stay at the club then it’s almost like a new signing.

“If we can keep Liam until the summer it would be a great lift but if Kilmarnock gets an offer then I don’t think they can really turn things down.”